GM Advisory Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

GM Advisory Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 16.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 592 shares during the quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $304.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.12 and a fifty-two week high of $309.37. The firm has a market cap of $124.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $288.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $265.44.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,946 shares of company stock worth $27,462,781 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc provides cloud-based human capital management solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). The Employer Services segment offers strategic, cloud-based platforms, and human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions.